FOURTEENTH ANXUAL MEETING. 



71 



will insist upon just about such a quality year after year, and 

 to that ])articular class of people the price makes very little 

 difl'erenco. 



The Inishel box is a very convenient form of package for 

 fanc\- fruit, but it will never pay to pack in it anything except 

 fanc\- stock, and it must be very carefully placed, else the fruit 

 will be in a worse condition than if packed in a barrel. It is 

 very difficult to pack apples in boxes so that the layers will 

 come out just tight enough to prevent the fruit from shaking, 

 and not so tight as to cause it to bruise, and only an expert 

 can pack for shipment any distance. For the choice fruit 

 that goes on the rich man's table, the box is the best package, 

 liut I believe the apple of the common people will be packed 

 in the standard apple barrel for many years to come. 



Xow. Mr. President, certamly to an observing person wlio 

 has exaniined the different fruit exhibits at the different fairs 

 and societies, and winter horticultural meeting's, there is shown 

 a wonderful improvement in the quality of fruit, and this 1 

 believe more than any other one thing goes to show what a 

 far reaching influence these meetings and the competition that 

 is brought about are having. I have noticed it not only at 

 the meetings which I have been fortunate enough to attend, 

 particularly the meetings in New York for the last two years, 

 but at many different shows of fruit in our own State, i 

 believe it is safe to make the statement that many of the 

 apples that are sold to-day as No. 2 are almost as good as the 

 apples which were sold ten years ago for No. i. There has 

 been a wonderful improvement. We can see it in these exhi- 

 bitions, we can see it at the different fairs, and we can see it 

 from year to year. We can see the improvement from year 

 to year in the quality of the apples over those that were shown 

 the previous years. We can see a vast difference in favor of 

 the later produced apples over those of several years ago. 

 Now what is the reason for this? I think I can explain just 

 what the secret of it is. If I am interested in producing apples 

 and I come here to your fair with a box of dift'erent varieties 

 and place them on exhibition, it may be that I am not well up 

 in the art of picking or packing those apples, and it doesn't 

 take me long to find out that I have got a whole lot to learn. 



